A lonely otaku desperate to sleep with Cure Pine but unable to obtain any dakimakura of her has taken matters into his own hands and made a DIY dakimakura of her, with the finished article being of surprising quality, economy, and ease of manufacture.
He shared the secrets of her manufacture with 2ch, as reproduced below.
The guide:
My wife’s dakimakura is sold out… there’s nothing for it but to make her myself!
Materials:
Dakimakura (the pillow itself)
Dakimakura cover
The picture you want to print [an unofficial picture of Cure Pine in this case]
Iron print paper
Tools:
Inkjet printer
Cutter
Cellophane tape
Ruler
[Summary instructions:
First magnify and print the picture as a poster on multiple A4 sheets to test its fit. The standard size for a dakimakura is about 120cmx40cm.
Then print to the iron-on paper, remembering to reverse the image as it will be transferred back to front.
After this trim off the excess paper, leaving 5mm or so around the edge of the image.
Next, tape the cut sheets together – take care they do not have gaps or can become unstuck.
It’s important to read the instructions for the paper – in my case, the sheets were made by Epson and stated they should only be used on pure cotton fabrics.
Next you place the sheets onto the cover, which you should lay on a firm, flat surface – on the floor with some newspapers will do. Then iron it on, following the instructions given with the paper.
Once it is finished you peel off the paper, taking special care to make sure it comes off properly and that everything adhered OK.]
My thoughts on making it:
Good:
It is cheap, 1270 for the pillow, 780 for the cover, and 2000 for the paper, so 4050 in total. You can make it with any picture you like.
Bad:
Depending on the size of the original the print can turn out rough. The printed side doesn’t feel so good. It may not be very durable, although some say they have had them for over a year without degradation.
His cutting is really precise.
Anyway, this makes sense. Actually surprising it wasn’t thought of before. I wonder how well that iron on print will stay.
Mmm!… I never gave a thought about sleeping with an anime girl printed on a pillow!… ^_^
Need instructions on how to get a real lay, eh?
Step 1. Talk to people.
Step 2. Go where life takes you.
Step 3. Realize you’ll most likely (because it does happen from time to time) never get that fantasy girl you want, so find something you think is really nice.
Step 4. Be happy.
i can SOO make some fanart dakimakuras and sell em at artist alleys at cons ^w^ but i’ll keep em all to myself :3 oh the possibilities (is off to torment my boyfriend with these ideas lmao)
I did the same thing for Liru, just created the image, edited it for dimensions, sent the image to a fabric printer in Hong Kong who produces dakimakuras, and 25 dollars later plus shipping, I got my Liru. Check eBay folks, many times on the bottom they say they do custom.